


It's the brightest sparks that we remember

by HopeSilverheart



Series: Shadowhunter Bingo [8]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: A lot of star references, Background Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Boys In Love, Downworlder Dad Magnus Bane, Established Relationship, Fluff, Insecure Raphael, M/M, Raphael Santiago Has Feelings, Simon is an astronomy nerd, Star Gazing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24292954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopeSilverheart/pseuds/HopeSilverheart
Summary: After years of dating the young vampire, Raphael finally proposes to Simon under the stars he loves so much.
Relationships: Simon Lewis/Raphael Santiago
Series: Shadowhunter Bingo [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1713982
Comments: 12
Kudos: 101
Collections: Fluff vs. Angst Battle 2020





	It's the brightest sparks that we remember

**Author's Note:**

> title is from sleeping at last's 'joy'

Raphael didn’t know why he was so nervous.

Simon and he had been dating for over two years, and their relationship was as healthy and happy as ever. It made sense, in the grand scheme of things, to propose to the younger vampire.

Before Simon, Raphael had never even thought about marriage, had never imagined that he would find someone he wanted to spend his entire life with, but the awkward brunet had changed everything for him. Simon made Raphael a better person, and he wanted to make sure that this man, the one who smiled at him like he had hung the moon and the stars, was by his side for as long as they lived.

Forever, if possible.

Still, he was nervous. He wanted everything to go smoothly, so he had been planning the event for weeks – months, if he was being honest – but now that it was right around the corner, he felt as though it wasn’t good enough. Nothing would ever be good enough for Simon, nothing could ever express how much Raphael loved him.

“Stop panicking,” Magnus chided him from where he was standing in the vampire’s closet. “You’re making  _ me _ nervous, and I’m already happily married. Just relax; Simon loves you, and you love him, and that’s all that matters.”

“Um, no, it’s not,” Raphael snapped. “I’m sorry that some of us can’t propose at some conveniently dramatic moment just as we’re about to save the world and run away to Edom for the people that we love. I actually had to think about this moment, because Simon deserves perfection, and now I’m not sure that it’s enough.”

“First of all, don’t dismiss my proposal like that; it was perfect,” Magnus scoffed. “Secondly, you’re really a pain to deal with sometimes, my dear. Simon won’t remember much outside of the actual proposal, believe me. You could feed him my blood and he wouldn’t even notice as long as you were on your knees in front of him.”

“Okay, that mention of your blood was completely unnecessary,” Raphael grimaced. He didn’t want to think about his boyfriend feeding on his father figure, thank you very much. “But I get what you mean. I just…”

“You want him to be happy, I know,” Magnus finished, his gaze softening as he turned to look at Raphael. “But I promise you that he will be. That boy is completely enamored with you, he’ll say yes before you even finish asking the question.”

“That’s the goal,” Raphael smiled nervously. “That or making him speechless, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen him stop talking before. Now, have you chosen an outfit yet or am I going to be late for my own romantic night because you couldn’t settle on a shirt?”

“Oh, hush you,” Magnus chuckled. “Fashion takes time, my dear. I know that you love your dark suits with your entire undead soul, but that won’t cut it for tonight. You need something with a bit more… sparkle. Sherman should be dazzled by your appearance at least as much as by your words.”

“Our goals are very different,” Raphael snorted. “But just hurry up. I don’t want to make him wait.”

“It’s not like you have a special reservation with the sky,” Magnus retorted. Nevertheless, he threw a burgundy shirt at Raphael and left him alone to get changed. “I, on the other hand, have a booking at the newest hot spot in Alicante with my husband, so I’ll be on my way.”

“Traitor!” Raphael exclaimed as the warlock portalled out of his room with one last encouraging wave and a quick wink.

Raphael groaned loudly. He still had twenty minutes to go before Simon got back from the Institute, maybe half an hour if Clary had stopped by to see Jace. Which meant he still had plenty of time to have an accidental breakdown over this proposal. He breathed in deeply, looking at himself in the mirror and trying to convince himself that he wasn’t a complete mess. He  _ wasn’t _ , really.

Ten minutes passed before Raphael sped to the hotel’s roof to check that everything was ready and that he hadn’t forgotten anything. The evening he had planned wasn’t complicated, but it still felt like everything was two seconds away from falling apart.

The ring in his pocket sat heavier than ever, and he fidgeted with the box as he waited for Simon to appear in the hotel’s living room. Just a few more minutes to go and his boyfriend would be there. His boyfriend, whom he was going to propose to under the stars that he loved so much.

His boyfriend, who was striding into the room with a wide smile on his face. As soon as he spotted Raphael, his grin widened and he rushed to his side, pecking his lips casually. The simple touch was enough to ground the older vampire, who couldn’t help but smile back helplessly at Simon.

“How’s my favorite person in the world doing today?” The younger man asked cheerfully, dragging Raphael towards his bedroom. “Did you do anything interesting? I can smell Magnus all over you, did the two of you hang out?”

“Mmm, he came over earlier,” Raphael confirmed. “But other than that, I didn’t do much. Took care of that dispute with the Staten Island clan who were encroaching on our territory and filled in a bunch of useless paperwork for the council. And then I got ready for our date, of course. You didn’t forget about that, did you?”

“How could I, when you look so dashing?” Simon laughed, heading for his closet. “Is there a dress code where we’re going? I wouldn’t want to show up underdressed like last time.”

“You weren’t underdressed,” Raphael rolled his eyes, though there was a smirk twitching at his lips. “And don’t worry about tonight, just wear whatever you want. We’re not really going anywhere special.”

“See, you say that, but your outfit says the opposite,” Simon pouted. “Can you at least tell me if I should dress warmly?”

“If you think it’s cold outside, then sure.” Raphael shrugged. As a vampire, they never really got cold, but Simon refused to get past his mundane habits and tended to wear a coat whenever his shadowhunter friends did. It should have been annoying, but Raphael just found it endearing. “But I promise that we’re not going to be doing anything fancy.”

Simon hummed to show that he had heard and slipped on a casual outfit that he  _ knew _ drove Raphael crazy. The pants were just tight enough to highlight all of his boyfriend’s best attributes, and his blue shirt made his other, darker features stand out. He looked beautiful, and the older vampire could only hope that he wouldn’t make a fool out of himself when the time came to get down on one knee in front of him.

“Let’s go?” Simon grinned innocently. “I’m excited to see what you planned for us. You’ve been strangely secretive about this entire thing.”

“Maybe I just want to surprise you once in a while,” Raphael huffed, wiping his sweaty hands on his dress pants as soon as Simon looked away. It wouldn’t do for the man to realize that he was nervous before they even got started. “Follow me.”

It didn’t take long for Simon to realize where they were headed, but he bit his lip and held back, clearly not wanting to ruin anything for Raphael. The older vampire appreciated his efforts, although he would have appreciated his boyfriend’s usual chatter to cover his nervousness.

“Woah,” Simon gasped as they stepped onto the roof.

Raphael smiled smugly at his boyfriend’s stunned expression. Sure, he had gotten a bit of help from Magnus, but the idea was all his, and he had to admit that Simon’s amazed look was worth all the efforts he had put into planning this date.

The usually drab location had been completely transformed. Raphael had hung fairy lights all around the area, had gathered pillows and blankets, and had then asked Magnus to conjure up a low table for the couple to eat at. It wasn’t anything big, but it represented the two of them perfectly, and that was all that Raphael wanted.

“Did you do all of this?” His boyfriend asked as they settled down on the comfortable cushions. “Or did you get Magnus to help? Because I can’t imagine carrying that table all the way up the stairs, even with our extra strength.”

“He took care of the table,” Raphael admitted, “but I did the rest, and let me tell you, setting up those fairy lights was harder than I thought it would be. They got tangled up every two seconds, and then they wouldn’t stay where I wanted them to, and then I realized that some of the lights weren’t the right colors…”

“Hey, what’s with the nervous rambling?” Simon burst out laughing, the sound soothing Raphael’s worries slightly. “That’s usually more my style. This is all perfect, Raphael, I promise. You did an amazing job. In fact, I can’t believe you put in all this work for our date; how am I ever going to top this?”

“Hopefully, you never will,” Raphael murmured, earning himself an inquisitive gaze from his boyfriend which he waved away nonchalantly. “Now, we both know that dinner is more than useless for the two of us, but I got us a few packs of blood with a little something extra from Magnus, and I thought we could just… Watch the stars?”

Simon nodded excitedly, and Raphael’s gaze softened at the sight of his enthusiastic boyfriend. He had never really understood why the other man loved the night sky so much, but anything that made Simon that happy was a good thing in his book. And if Simon knew that Raphael always stared at his boyfriend instead of the stars, then he never complained about it.

“Do you think you’ve finally memorized a few constellations?” His boyfriend teased him. “Or are you a lost cause? I swear, even Alec’s picked up on a few names because of my constant talking.”

“You’ll give up eventually.” Raphael chuckled. “You know that I only look at the stars because you like them.”

Still, he lied back next to Simon, linking their hands, and rubbing small circles into Simon’s palm. They stayed silent for a while, observing the sky, and enjoying each other’s company. Those were the moments that Raphael loved most, and he couldn’t think of a better time or place to propose.

Magnus had been right once again; the only thing that mattered was that Raphael and Simon cared about each other. How could anything go wrong when he was with the man he loved? Everything else was just a nice bonus.

“Raph,” Simon murmured. “Why are we stargazing on a weeknight? Not that I’m complaining, since these are my favorite types of evenings, but… Any reason for the extra romance? If you think you did something wrong and this is your way of apologizing, I promise that you haven’t made me mad about anything in a very long time. Or did I forget our anniversary again? Oh my god, Raphael, that’s it, isn’t it?! I’m so sorry. I didn’t get you a gift, and I didn’t even say anything this morning, and now you probably think I’m a terrible boyfriend. I know I promised you that I’d never forget about it again, and I was sure that I had the date marked down but-”

“Simon,” Raphael interrupted, amused. “You didn’t forget our anniversary. We got together in July, not February. And don’t worry, I’ll make sure to remind you of the date when it comes up, just to make sure that it doesn’t slip your mind.”

“Oh, okay…” Simon breathed out, clearly relieved. “But then what is it? I’m pretty sure today isn’t Valentine’s Day, and I’m also quite certain that you don’t celebrate that holiday anyways. Or at least, we didn’t do anything last year, or the year before.”

“Look, could you just…” Raphael laughed nervously. “Give me a second? I swear that there’s a reason for this evening and that we’ll get to it, but in the meantime, could you just look at your stars and focus on them rather than on me?”

“As if I’d ever focus on the stars when you’re next to me,” Simon rolled his eyes, saying the words so naturally that they made Raphael’s breath hitch. For heaven’s sake, he was a vampire, he shouldn’t have even been breathing in the first place.

But that was Simon for him. His boyfriend had a way of making him forget about everything. When he was around the younger vampire, it was like he was human again, living and laughing and breathing and bathing in youthfulness.

“That one is the Great Bear,” he finally whispered, tightening his grip on Simon’s hand. “And there’s the Little Bear over there. This one’s Capricorn, and that one’s Gemini, and over there is Orion. Of course, there’s also the North Star, but I knew that even before I met you.”

“Raphael, what are you-”

“You think I don’t listen to you when you point out the stars,” Raphael continued, ignoring his boyfriend’s interruption. “But I remember everything that you tell me because every word that comes out of your lips is worth hearing. I don’t care about the constellations or their names and place in the sky, but I care about you, so I’ll learn everything there is to know about them, just to make you smile.”

He breathed in deeply, sitting up and dragging Simon with him before pulling them into a standing position in one smooth move. Being a vampire definitely had its perks, from time to time. He wasn’t sure that he could have gotten up so steadily if it weren’t for his enhanced speed; what with his trembling hands and legs that felt like gelatine.

Simon was staring at him dazedly, and he looked so beautiful that Raphael almost forgot what he was trying to do. Shaking his head to break through his momentary distraction, he inhaled sharply and dropped down on one knee as gracefully as possible.

When he looked up at his boyfriend, there were tears in Simon’s eyes and his hands had flown to cover his mouth. Even as a sob broke past the vampire’s lips, he was the most breathtaking person that Raphael had ever seen.

“Simon,” Raphael started, his voice breathy and wet and probably doing very little to conceal his anxiety. “I know that you don’t need me to remind you that I love you, but I think you deserve a few words anyway. You always have so much to say to me, and sometimes I feel like my actions don’t get the message across properly. You mean everything to me, so I thought I could try, for you.”

“Raph…”

“Shh, I need to get through this,” Raphael breathed out. “Simon Lewis; the only Daylighter on this planet, my boyfriend, my love, my everything. I know that I’m not what you were expecting when you thought about love as a child, but I hope that I lived up to your dreams anyways. I can’t imagine spending a day on this earth without you, and I hope that you feel even a fraction of what I do for you. I want… I want to wake up every day to your face and your smile and your endless stream of words. I want to love and cherish you, and care for you when you’re hurt. I want to support you when you need help and learn to accept your help in return. I want you to be reminded, every single day, that there’s someone in this world that loves you more than anything else. I can’t promise that we won’t fight, because I know that I can be a cold, petty, and jealous at times, but Simon… I would fly to the stars and bring them all down for you if that’s what you wanted. So, please, will you marry me?”

His voice was shaky and rough, and he had probably stumbled over more than half his words, but Simon was crying happily, a huge smile on his face, so he didn’t think that his speech had been half-bad. And when his boyfriend nodded, a string of ‘ _ yes, yes, yes _ ’ tumbling past his lips, Raphael took out the ring that he had completely forgotten about and slipped it onto his fiancé’s hand.

After that, everything was a blur of kisses and embraces and loving words whispered in the space between them. Simon kept glancing down at his ring with disbelieving eyes, and Raphael held him tightly, unwilling to think about the moment when he would have to let go.

They decided to continue watching the stars, sprawled out on the blankets, and comfortable in each other’s arms. Raphael didn’t know how much time passed before Simon spoke up again, but he knew they would have to go back inside soon if he didn’t want to face the sun’s deadly light.

“I just have one question,” Simon whispered, his eyes dancing with mirth. Raphael hummed to show that he was listening, curious as to what had caught his fiancé’s attention. “How many times did you have to practice that speech?”

“Excuse you!” Raphael huffed. “Who’s to say I didn’t improvise?”

“As if you could ever pull something like that off,” Simon snorted teasingly. “Now that I think about it… Did you get Magnus to help you with it? Or are you telling me that you came up with the line about the stars by yourself?”

“ _ Dios _ , Simon, do you want me to take the ring back already?” Raphael muttered, aware that he sounded more embarrassed than annoyed. “That speech was a one time thing, and I’ll have you know that Magnus could have never written something as good as that. His proposal to Alec was nothing compared to mine.”

“Of course it wasn’t,” Simon laughed. “And for that, I’m extremely grateful, because I don’t think I could have handled a second trip to a dimension of hell.”

“Not even for me?” Raphael asked.

He rolled his eyes at Simon’s fake-thoughtful features, but his smile never faltered. How could it, now that it was only a matter of time before he married the love of his life?

“Tempting offer, Santiago,” Simon finally whispered, leaning in to kiss him. “After all, if you’re willing to catch a star for me, then perhaps I could be convinced to go to hell for you.”

“It’s a deal, Lewis. Anything as long as I’m with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Heya guys, thank you so much for reading! And thank you to [thatnerdemilyj](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatnerdemilyj) for beta'ing this for me! This was created for the 'star gazing' prompt of the Shadowhunter Bingo. I really wanted to write a short, sweet fic for these two adorable boys, and this is what came of it. Honestly, even though it's extremely fluffy and sappy, I love it. They deserved a perfect, romantic, over-the-top proposal, and I decided to give it to them! Also, I wanted to thank all the Saphael readers out there who have been leaving the sweetest comments under my fics, I appreciate you so much <3 I hope you all enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> Love, Julie. 
> 
> (find me on tumblr @hopesilverheart)


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